Soulmates
by Elisha Silverpine
Summary: Basically a Sachin/OC! Not sure how to summarize this so RATE AND REVIEW!
1. Sachin

**DISCLAIMER: I own many things. CID isn't one of them. I own only my OC's. *pouts***

Sachin did not like nightclubs.

Nightclubs were his least favorite spots in Mumbai. As a CID officer though, he had to go to clubs like that for undercover operations. That night, they had to catch a fearsome goon called Surya (how enlightening), who'd been smuggling drugs that weren't found locally yet had caused HUGE problems to the people who took them.

At the moment though, he wanted to get out of that club, away from the smoke, the lights, the blaring music and the flirty dancers. _Especially_ the flirting call girls. _Curse you Daya sir_ , he thought as he sat near the bar.

"Drinks, sir?" The barman asked.

"Some water would be nice." Sachin said, wondering what he was going to do next.

"Actually," A husky voice said, breaking his reverie, "Make that 2 glasses of water. Keep one on my tab."

He turned around to see who the owner of the voice was. It turned out to be a woman with breath taking beauty. She had long, reddish brown wavy hair that was French braided to one side. Her eyes were emerald green, with a spark of intelligence and mischief in them. Her skin was smooth and dusky. She wore a pair of short jeans and a tank top that said _NORMAL IS BORING_.

At any other day, Sachin would have reacted differently. But now he was not in a good mood. He groaned inwardly. _Great. Another call girl._

As he and the woman paid for their drinks, she smiled at him. "Well, someone's not chatty." She casually commented, sipping her water.

"How can you tell?" He sarcastically asked.

"I know that you're looking for Surya." She said and casually half raised her hand as Sachin stared at her in shock. "Chillax man. I can get you the guy. Name your place and I'll get him there."

"What's the catch?" He asked, suspicious.

"Bring me the moon." She deadpanned. "Just tell me where you want him and get there. And decide fast."

"Err…" Sachin quickly texted Daya sir. His response came in a few seconds. "Near the white SUV outside." He said. She flashed a smile and nodded. Within a few seconds she was in the sea of dancers her head bobbing to the beat of the music. Sachin then got out of there and walked towards the said vehicle.

"Is he coming?" Nikhil asked him.

"He should be in a few." Sachin replied to his best friend, fingering his gun. True to the lady's word, she and the Thug were coming out of the club towards the location. Though they were laughing at something, Sachin noted how the woman was slightly more tense than Surya.

The minute the 2 of them got there, All the CID officers(Abhijeet, Daya, Nikhil, himself and Freddy) sprung out, guns ready to be fired.

"CID." Abhijeet sir said sharply. "Hands up!" He motioned to the thug.

"My gang-" Surya looked here and there.

"-is currently knocked out and behind bars, thanks to us." Nikhil said.

"You won't catch me." Surya sneered. He pointed the gun to the lady's head. "Shoot me, and she dies."

"Put your gun down, now!" Daya sir said. The lady suddenly spoke.

"You're going to kill me?" She asked the thug, making Sachin wonder how stupid a call girl could get. _There's a freaking gun at your head, Lady. Of course he'll kill you._

"Of course I will if you move, you stupid girl!" He snarled turning to face her.

"But how will you do that without your gun?"

"Huh?" He said confused. The lady suddenly grabbed the gun and wrenched it out of his hands and stamped on his foot firmly at the same time. Surya let out a blood curdling screech as the woman threw away the gun and procured another from the waistband of her jeans, a part which had been well covered by a bag. She cocked it and pointed it to his head. Her face went from demure to cold.

"CID." She said in a commanding tone. "I suggest you put your hands up and come with us quietly. Otherwise we'll have to clean up a huge mess created by you." She caught the eye of Sachin, who looked dumbstruck.

 **THIS LINEBREAK WANTS PANEER BUTTER MASALA.**

"You owe us an explanation, sir." Sachin told ACP Pradyuman the minute they got back to the bureau. The lady had come in her motorbike and now was standing there.

"This lady," And here the ACP smiled affectionately at the woman who walked over returning the smile. "She is Inspector Anita Williams. She's just transferred from the Kerala police department."

"Inspector?!" Abhijeet and Daya looked in surprise. Anita grinned.

"Sir, you could have told us sooner." Nikhil said to ACP.

"I was planning to deliver the news tomorrow," ACP answered, "But With the smuggling case going on, I dispatched Anita ASAP to help you all."

"You are a talented actress, Anita ma'am." Nikhil complimented her.

"Why thank you…" Anita trailed off.

"Nikhil, ma'am."

"Thank you Nikhil." Anita smiled. "It's an honor to be here." She said.

"Senior Inspector Abhijeet." Abhijeet shook her hand.

"Senior Inspector Daya." Daya shook her hand as well.

"Inspector Fredericks, but call me Freddy." Freddy said smiling politely.

"And you must be Inspector Sachin." Anita said looking at Sachin even before he could open his mouth.

"Yes, yes I am." He said, slightly irritated. Inspector or not, Anita Williams was still a newbie!

"You've met him before?" ACP asked her.

"In the club tonight? Yes." Anita said. "Outside? Nope."

"Well, we've got to get back." ACP said, looking at the time. "I'll see you all in the Bureau tomorrow."

With that, everyone dispersed. Sachin and Nikhil made their way over to Sachin's car as Nikhil would be buying a new car in the weekend.

"So what do you think about Miss Williams?" Nikhil asked him.

"She's a good actress alright," Sachin said as he started the car. "But the way she talks, she's ANNOYING! For god's sake, she's still new!"

"Give her a couple of days, Sach." Nikhil said. "Then it'll be fine."

Sachin sincerely hoped so.

 **Rate and review! Just rate and review!**


	2. Anita

As the days passed, Anita couldn't believe how much luck was favoring her.

On her first official day as an Inspector in the CID, she'd walked into the bureau, dressed in a plain blue shirt, black slacks and black shoes, unsure of how she was going to be treated there. To her ultimate surprise, all the CID officers, Senior and Junior alike, had graciously welcomed her and had treated her like their family. Purvi and Shreya, two sub inspectors, had insisted that she go with them later in the evening to shop for some more stylish clothes (god help her, she hated shopping). The forensics doctor Tarika and her boss Salunkhe too were very kind to her.

Anita Williams had lost her parents when she had been 2 years old. She had been then placed in the nearby orphanage, where she had a less than warm childhood. The matron, a horrible woman, had made them work from morning till evening. It wasn't that they were starved or anything. It was just that none of the orphans had ever got a mother's love there.

 _Love is a weakness._ The lady had said. _To love is to destroy and to be loved is to be destroyed._

But Anita ignored the advice. She tried to make friends, even went out with a couple of guys. But most of the time the conversations went one sided. The girls would look at her strangely whenever she'd mention her favorite books (she loved reading books) or talk about her favorite snack or whatever. The guys would leave her after sometime when they found out she wouldn't smoke or drink or do illegal stuff. The one thing that had truly shattered her was when she'd accidently eavesdropped upon the girls gossiping about her.

"Such a weirdo!" One of the women was saying. "I say we ditch Anita tomorrow. She's such a loser."

It seemed trivial later on, but that day, Anita had spent the evening crying and sobbing because of that remark. That was the only time that day she cried. She resolved never to show others that she was weak.

Anita soon got a job in the police department in Kerala. There, she threw herself into her work and soon rose to the top ranks. She joked around, pretended to be happy. Laughter was the only way to hide her pain. But she never let anyone know of her true feelings. The young keralite had decided that she would never let anyone hurt her again.

Anytime they had a case going on, the ACP would assign a pair of officers to get to the crime spot, to get information, etc. Majority of the time she was paired up with Sachin. The first time they had to go together, Sachin looked like someone had told him he was standing on a bomb. She had joked about it later on and had got a glare from him. Aah, good times.

But later on, as the days passed, Anita began to find she could work with him easily. He didn't pry into her past, ask her ridiculous questions or even try to flirt with her anytime (God, that was so annoying when she had been in Kerala). Their minds worked together whenever they were on a case. It was, reassuring, whenever she was with him. Just seeing him calmed her down, made her feel that the day ahead would be great.

Their first major case though, was really a life changing one.

She'd started off from her home early and had been stuck in the traffic for a little while. That's when she had noticed a bloody hand peeking out from a bush in the nearby park. Suspicious, she had gone and examined the bush to find a dead body there. She glanced at her watch and realized she was going to be late. Oh joy.

Anita took out her phone and dialed the CID bureau number. Within minutes, it was picked up by none other than Sachin.

"Hello?"

"Sachin, it's me, Anita."

"Where are you Williams? You're late!"

"Thank you for reminding me Pandey! I've just stumbled upon a dead body and that's all you have to tell me?"

"A dead body? Where?"

"In _ park. **(A/N: Fill in the blank with the name of the park you fancy.)** Now get here!"

Within half an hour, the CID Qualis had reached the spot. During that time, Anita had made a quick search of the body. Out of the Qualis, ACP, Rajat, Sachin, Nikhil and Purvi got out.

"How bad is it?" ACP asked her.

"He's been brutally murdered with a knife." Anita shook her head. "2 jabs to each side of the stomach and one on the chest." She paused a bit before continuing. "The weapon's missing from the scene -most likely the killer took it- but the strangest thing is, _nothing has been taken_."

"What?" Rajat asked, incredulous.

"I'm serious, sir! His phone, his wallet, his money, nothing has been taken!" Anita said, troubled. "I've checked his I.D.. His name's Samarth Sagar. Aged 35, married and had a steady job at Bharat motor's factory."

ACP replied. "Nikhil, Purvi, get the body back to the forensics lab. Rajat, Sachin, check around for more clues. Anita, you and I are going back to the bureau." Anita nodded as she and ACP walked back to her Mercedes Benz, her pride and joy.

Half an hour later, they got back to the bureau and walked straight to the forensics lab. Salunkhe and Tarika were waiting as they entered the lab.

"Come in, come in!" Salunkhe said as they walked in. "Anita, with brains like yours, you could have been a forensics doctor."

"And blow up an entire lab?" Anita shuddered. "Not likely! Anyways, what have you got for us Salunkhe sir?"

"We did a test on the man's blood sample." Tarika said. "What we found out really surprised the both of us."

"What did you find?" Anita asked.

"We found a peculiar liquid in the man's blood." Tarika said. "The liquid had no effect on the man's body. We haven't recognized the liquid yet."

"Wonderful." ACP sarcastically said. "Any fingerprints?"

"We found a couple on the man." Salunkhe said. "But we don't know who they belong to yet."

Just then, Sachin and Rajat walked in. "Nothing was found there." Sachin said. "This guy's good."

"Very well." ACP said. "Sachin, Anita, you two are going to Bharat motor's factory. Get information on Sagar. Nikhil and Purvi will go inform his family. Go now." Sachin and Anita nodded and went to the Qualis.

On the onward journey, Anita thought about the case. A man had been murdered and been hidden in an easily accessible place. Nothing was missing from his person. What kind of a killer would do that? Either the killer was incredibly stupid, or it was meant to frame someone in particular.

"You're very quiet, did you know that?" Sachin's voice broke her running train of thoughts.

"I find it easier to keep quiet." Anita said. "I'm horrible at small talk."

"I don't know you that well." Sachin said. "Here's an idea. I'll tell you what I like and you tell me the same."

Anita considered it. "Okay then."

"Fine." Sachin considered and then said. "My favorite color is blue."

"Mine is Blue as well."

"I like books."

"I love reading books."

"Really?" Sachin looked interested. "Favorite book?"

"I've so many of them."

"I'm Ravenclaw."

"Gryffindor."

"Dauntless."

"Divergent, with aptitude for Dauntless and Erudite."

"District 4."

"District 12."

"Hephaestus."

"Athena."

"Rome."

"Greece."

"Guitar."

"Piano."

"Chocolate."

"Butterscotch."

"Summer."

"Winter."

"You aren't that bad at small talk, Williams." Sachin chuckled.

"This is small talk?" Anita asked. "I just told you what I liked!"

"At least I managed to get you to talk!" Sachin smirked.

"True." Anita admitted. She then saw a factory. "Is that our stop?" She asked.

"Let me see." Sachin squinted and then nodded. "Yep. This is Bharat motor's factory. Get ready."

"We have some information to collect." Anita nodded.


	3. Interrogation

**Back from India! It was a lovely trip and gave me loads of inspiration! Well, here's a nice chapter for all those who want it!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I'm not B. P. Singh. I don't own CID.*sigh***

"We'll do better if we split up." Anita said as they got down from the Qualis.

"Split up?" Sachin asked. "I see your point. But who'll do what?"

"You go and check on the manager." Anita said. "I'll go and check up with the factory workers. I'll see Sagar's reputation from their point of view."

"Huh?"

Anita rolled her eyes. "I'll simply find out what they think of him and about his reputation, Pandey." She indicated to the doorway. "Shall we?"

Within a few minutes, Sachin was making his way up to the manager's room. He wondered how Anita was doing downstairs as he opened the door.

"Yes?" The manager asked, raising an eyebrow. He was a guy in his mid 30s, a brunette with brown eyes that looked mildly curious.

"I'm from CID." Sachin said, holding up his badge. "I'm here to ask you about one of your employees. His name was Samarth Sagar." He held up a photo of Sagar.

"I'm sorry, _was_?" Mr. Manager asked. Sachin read his name on the placard. _Varun D'Souza._

"He's dead."

"Oh." Varun sounded distressed. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I was hoping to know about Sagar." Sachin said, inwardly wishing Anita was next to him. She was his personal good luck charm now. He felt a lot more comfortable around her. Of course that was not relevant now.

"Well," Varun had a thoughtful expression. "Samarth was a delightful worker. No tardiness, did his work correctly and was so intelligent. He mostly kept to himself though. He wasn't one to start a fight, but didn't have many friends. Quite odd, but I didn't ask."

"Ah." Sachin replied. "Before his death, was he upset about anything? Was there a change in his behavior or anything?"

"Hmm, actually, no. He was fine. He'd been a little friendlier with everyone, but otherwise there was no change in his behavior."

Sachin nodded. "Thank you Mr. D'Souza." As he turned to leave, Varun called out. "Oh, sir! I almost forgot. I'm hosting a charity fund for Little Flowers Orphanage on next Monday. Here is the invitation. It would be quite an honor if the entire CID team came." Sachin turned to see him flourish a blue pamphlet from his table drawer.

"Thank you." Sachin said, taking it. "We'll come." He walked down towards the exit, where Anita was waiting for him. For some weird reason, he felt a lot more calmer, as if he'd been wearing a tight shirt, and it had loosened up.

"Took you long enough, if you ask me." Anita commented as they walked back to the Qualis. "From what I heard, our chap was brilliant, kind, very neat and mostly kept to himself."

"In other words, exactly like you." Sachin grinned as Anita rolled her eyes.

"No one is like me. My awesomeness cannot be matched to anyone else's." Anita said. "Anyway, a few days before his death, Samarth had gotten slightly paranoid or something, because he'd started warning the others about their boss' side project going haywire or something."

Sachin stared. "What side project?"

"He wouldn't explain it to them, but he'd mutter something about 'mind control' and 'serum' every time. The workers also said he'd also tell them, 'He's coming to get me. He'll kill me. I have to stop him.'"

"Stop _who_? And who killed him?"

"That's for us to find." Anita said as she climbed shotgun. "What did you get?"

"More or less, your info." Sachin replied. "Plus I got an invitation for all of us for his charity fund next week."

"Charity fund? Guy must be a philanthropist." Anita whistled.

 **THIS LINE BREAK WANTS A PLATTER OF MEN IN BLACK WITH A SIDE DISH OF FRANK THE PUG, A SPRINKLE OF AGENT KAY AND A DASH OF AGENT JAY.**

"Sheri sheri mole," Anita said to her phone. "Njan vainnaram oru ezhu mani aavubazhikym veetil etthum. Appe nee Kunjune kondanollu, okay? Appe sheri." And she cut the phone.

"Who was that?" Sachin asked as they reached the building.

"My neighbor." Anita said as they entered the building. "She and her husband are going to Kalyan jewelers and I've agreed to take care of their son Adithyan for an hour today evening." When they entered the bureau they were greeted by ACP and Daya.

Sachin told them everything that the 2 of them had got. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

"Any luck on the mysterious liquid sir?" Anita asked ACP.

"No leads, so far." ACP shook his head.

"Bhagavane." Anita mumbled. "Could this liquid be connected to the mentioned 'side project'?"

"Could be." Daya nodded. At that moment the phone rang. Anita strode over and picked the phone. "Hello, CID." She said and listened. "Yes?...What?!...Where should we meet you?...All right. We'll come. But who are you?...Alright."

She put it down tersely. "An anonymous guy just called. He said he's got information related to this murder. He's asked us to meet him today evening in _Saravana Bhavan_ hotel."

"What time?" Daya asked.

"5:00 PM." Anita said. "Which means, we have 2 hours to kill until then."

"Fine then." ACP said. "Nikhil and Purvi should be arriving in about 15 minutes. Till then, well…" He trailed off. Sachin and Anita got the hint and walked off to their areas.

"Speaking about Nikhil and Purvi…" Sachin began.

"I'm going to lock the two of them in a cupboard someday." Anita said as she picked up a file and started sifting through it. "Why don't they get together?!"

"They are together." Sachin said as he opened up a file on the computer. "They just don't show it much here."

Anita sighed as she continued her work. "They sure had me fooled."

"Have you ever been in a relationship?" Sachin asked suddenly. Anita's face went from amused to guarded suddenly as well.

"A couple of dates, yes. But I don't have a boyfriend." She said in a neutral tone. "Why do you ask?"

"I thought you'd be in one." Sachin replied, a part of him relieved for some unknown reason.

"I've learnt something a long time ago and experienced it." She said, looking up at him. For once, he didn't see a spark of mischief and intelligence in her emerald green eyes. He wasn't looking at a joyful, mischievous and happy woman. He saw a broken, tired one, whose eyes looked as though they had seen and experienced too much.

"Learnt what?" He asked.

"That to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be destroyed." She said and abruptly got up. "Oh look, Purvi and Nikhil are back." She set down the file and quickly rushed off, her expression changing back into its usual cheery smile.

They set off for the hotel at 4:30 PM, with Sachin, Anita, Purvi and Nikhil in the Qualis. Anita and Purvi were going to meet the anonymous guy and directly transmit their conversation through a transmitter concealed in Anita's necklace while Sachin and Nikhil came as back up and listened to the conversation as well.

"If anything goes wrong…" Nikhil told the two.

"We'll kick the guy's butt." Purvi grinned. "We'll be fine Nikhil, don't worry."

"Do we even know who he/she is?" Sachin asked as Nikhil pulled into the parking lot. Anita scanned the room through the glass door.

"I see our chap." She murmured. "Come on Purvi, let's go."

"Be careful." Sachin said all of a sudden. Anita simply smiled in response to that as she and Purvi made their way to a table. Sachin and Nikhil watched as they sat down to face a thin, lanky man who looked nervous.

"I don't want any trouble…" He muttered.

"Relax, my man." Anita said reassuringly. "Now tell us what you know."

The man looked around before speaking. "Many a time, I've gone by Mr. D'Souza's office, you know. Our boss, you see, he's involved in some sort of project."

"We've heard." Purvi said. "But what kind of project?"

"We don't know!" The man looked very scared. "Only few people know about it! Sagar was one of them and now he's been killed!"

"Hey, hey! Cool it Arnav, relax!" Anita said, a little unsettled herself. "Anything else?"

"The day before the murder," Arnav said, blinking rapidly, "I'd passed his office, when I heard Mr. D'Souza and Sagar arguing. Sagar was saying something about not working as his lackey anymore and Mr. D'Souza was asking him to reconsider. I went away though soon as I didn't want to get into trouble. That's it."

Sachin and Nikhil looked at each other. This was something. _Exactly what caused their argument?_ Sachin wondered.

"Please," Arnav looked close to crying, "I don't want to die. I have a wife and 3 kids waiting for me at home, please, please don't let anyone kill me for this…"

"We won't." Anita firmly said. "You'll be safe. Thank you Arnav. You're a brave man." She said, squeezing his hand. For one second, Sachin felt irritated at that sight. Then he felt confused at that.

 _She's just comforting him._ He told himself. _Nothing else._

"Aand we're back!" Purvi proclaimed as she and Anita walked out.

"A mysterious argument?" Nikhil asked as they got in.

"The plot thickens." Anita said, lounging back in her seat. "D'Souza has something to answer for now. I mean, seriously. _Lackey_?"

The rest of the ride was pretty much spent in this manner, all of them considering what could have been the reason for the argument. They continued this until they got inside the bureau.

Two men and a woman had got there and were casually chatting. From their body language it was evident they were CID officers.

Sachin was surprised to see them. He'd not expected them to come here this fast from their case. But the most surprised person was Anita who stared at them open mouthed.

She then walked up to them and said, "You might as well told me that you were coming here right now, guys. Especially you, my dearest cousin Kavin."

 **KAVIN'S HERE! Anita and Kavin are related! Bonus points if you can figure out who the other two are!**

 **I love reviews. Be a dear and review, will you guys?**


	4. Revelation

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. *horror music in background***

"Cousin?" Sachin asked, surprised.

"Younger cousin." Anita corrected. "Mandan Shashi here-"

" _Who?!_ "

"Mallu slang for 'idiot'. She coined it." Kavin ruefully smiled. "I told her to stop calling me that."

"And I never listened." Anita grinned. "Anyways, you never told me you were coming here! I feel cheated!"

"Sorry oppole," Kavin said. "We were in a separate case in Goa ourselves!"

"And we really missed you, my girl." Ishita said, laughing as she enveloped Anita in a hug. She still smelled the same, like rosewood. "How are you, my girl?"

Anita grinned. "Never felt better. I suppose you know all about our case now?"

"Yep." Dushyant nodded. "Strange case. And you haven't been able to establish any motive yet?"

"No." Sachin answered that one. "We'll try better in the morning. Speaking of which, isn't it time to get back home?"

Anita looked at the clock. It was 7:00 PM. Sachin was right. "Ah well, I'm calling it a day. Join me? I'm watching Sherlock." She told the trio, who grinned.

"Nice offer, but we'll pass." Ishita said, yawning. "We just reached here a half hour back. I'm bone tired. And yeah, Kavin's driving."

"EXCUSE ME?!" Kavin sputtered. "I was the one who drove us here, I believe it's Dushyant's turn."

"Hey, not fair!" Dushyant scowled.

"Life's not fair, Hemraj." Sachin smirked as he walked to his desk. "Get used to that fact." He caught Anita's eyes and grinned. Anita found herself smiling back naturally. She got her keys as well and soon everyone went back home.

Anita inwardly smiled as she mentally reviewed the day's events. Her most memorable one was the conversation she had that day with Sachin. She had been surprised that time as she hadn't expected anyone to be a great fan of the books she read. It had been a pleasant surprise. And the fact that it was Sachin seemed to make it even better.

Next morning, Anita had barely reached the bureau when the phone started ringing. Kavin smirked a bit at that.

"Precise timing! Good morning to you cousin dearest." He said, striding over to the phone. Anita aimed a whack at his head, which he narrowly dodged.

"Remind me to kill him later." She said to Sachin as she took her seat.

"And a good morning to you too." Sachin said, looking up amused. Anita sifted through her paperwork as she asked, "Has anyone got any leads yet?"

"None." Sachin answered. Anita looked up to see Kavin put the phone down, all traces of humor draining from his face.

"What happened, Kavin?" Anita asked.

"There's been another murder, this time at a warehouse near this hotel Saravana Bhavan." Kavin said, rushing to inform ACP. Anita's smile vanished as she and an equally worried Sachin got up.

In a few minutes the both of them took the Qualis to the designated spot. Anita had nagging feeling as to who it could have been.

 _Please don't let it be him, please don't let it be him…_ She prayed mentally to the higher powers as they reached the spot. The minute they got out, she practically ran to the warehouse. Her worst fear was confirmed when she saw the body.

"Oh my god!" She clapped a hand to her mouth in horror. Sachin, who reached a second later, widened his eyes in shock as they gazed upon the brutally stabbed body of Arnav, the man who'd been interviewed the day before.

"The killer must have been spying on us yesterday." Anita said, her horror turning slowly to anger.

"I'll get the corpse to the lab." Sachin said, reaching for his phone. "Anita, check for clues. There ought to be something here." Anita nodded as she put on her gloves and made a quick search of the room.

The result? Nothing of importance. There wasn't any bloody weapon, no shred of evidence, nothing. Anita would have just walked out of the room in exasperation if she hadn't seen the message on the wall beside her. It was written in huge letters with blood.

 _CID, STAY AWAY FROM THIS. DO NOT INTERFERE IF YOU WISH TO SAVE MORE LIVES._

"Sachin!" Anita yelled as she got her phone out to take a picture of the message. Sachin walked in and saw it.

"What in the name of-" Sachin attempted to say something, and then shook his head. "Did you take a picture?"

"I did." Anita answered in a low voice. "Anything new?"

"The guy who found him, he doesn't know Arnav. Nor does he know how he got here. And the place was deserted for the night. Let's get back to the bureau. Nothing more to find here now."

As the both of them got to the Qualis, Anita felt very angry. "When I find who's behind all this, I'll kill him. I really will." She said looking at her hands when they got inside.

Sachin put his hand on her shoulder. "First, we ought to find him. Don't get too angry, Anita."

Anita looked at him. He was looking at her with an expression that was half determined and half understanding. After looking at that blood and gore, looking at his warm brown eyes was a welcome relief. Her anger faded a bit and her tense muscles relaxed. She nodded as she gently took his hand off. The mere touch of their hands sent electricity running through her hand.

 _Wait, what? Girl, you sound like an Aphrodite kid._

They got back in silence. As the two of them got to the lab, they heard voices arguing over something.

"Tarika, you should be sitting down!" Abhijeet was telling Tarika.

"For heavens' sake Abhijeet, I'm only pregnant, not terminally ill!" Tarika said, half exasperated. "Standing for a couple of minutes isn't going to fully wear me out!"

"My dear Tarika, your husband has a point for once!" Salunkhe said. "You ought to be sitting now! You were standing for quite an amount of time! Sit, my dear girl!" Tarika frowned, but sat down at her table, her hand unconsciously moving to the bulge in her stomach.

Without wasting time, Anita and Sachin quickly filled in the others-Nikhil, ACP, Abhijeet, Purvi, Daya, Dr. Salunkhe and Tarika- what they had discovered. Anita showed them the picture of that bloody message.

"What is happening?" ACP growled. "Two murders occur, there's no established motive, no important connections except for their line of work, NOTHING! And now this message!"

"And boss," Salunkhe interjected, "We may have found what the liquid's purpose is for."

"For what?" ACP asked.

"See Pradyuman, the thing about these liquids are, well, they are completely unique and special. This kind of thing has never been seen by anyone. From what testing I did, it seems the liquid specialized in controlling the behavioral patterns of the person it was injected into. The injected person then acts like a sleepwalker: he/she doesn't know what he/she is doing at that time."

Purvi answered in an unsure manner. "So, this liquid was mind controlling them?!"

"Yes, it seems so." Tarika said. "It's fascinating as this fluid depends upon will power. Translation: The lower the will, the easier it is for the fluid to affect the person."

"And so this happened to Sagar?" Nikhil asked.

Salunkhe shook his head. "Quite the opposite, Nikhil. The serum couldn't affect him. He had a strong will power, it seems."

Abhijeet looked uncertain. "So possibly this could have been the reason why Sagar was killed. Because he couldn't be controlled."

Anita felt afraid and wary. This was no ordinary case. This was no case where a man was killed for either money, revenge or for any personal gain.

Oh no. This was something much, much worse.


	5. Discovery

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. *Cue horror music in background***

Informing Arnav's family was a horrible task.

His family lived in a simple two bedroom house that looked like it had seen better days. His wife and kids were close to tears when they heard about his death. Sachin felt guilty every time he looked at the faces of the lady and the little boy and both girls.

"Now who will support all three of these kids?" The lady sobbed. "Find the killer, sir. Find him and bring him to justice soon."

"We will." Anita had nodded. "Whoever the killer is, he/she is not going to stay free soon."

"Now what?" Dushyant asked as the four of them-Kavin, Dushyant, Sachin and Anita- walked back to the Qualis. Anita answered, "We're off to Bharat Motors Factory. Two of us should interview D'Souza again. The other two should make a quick search of the factory. I have a suspicion this factory is producing something bigger that motors."

As Sachin drove, Kavin asked Anita, "So tell me Anita, how's working with the CID going for you?"

"It's going great." Anita said, a faint smile crossing her lips. "I've helped solve interesting cases and made good friends here. It's not all smooth sailing, but it's cool. You should've seen Sachin's face when we both had to investigate together the first time."

"My expression wasn't that bad, was it?" Sachin asked, sneaking a look at her. Anita looked at him with a mischievous expression on her face. She looked really pretty with that smirk on her face and the light falling on her face making it seem like it was glowing.

 _Huh? Snap out of it Pandey, you're getting distracted._

"To be precise, you looked like you were standing on a bomb." Anita said, chuckling a bit.

"And you didn't take a picture? What a shame." Dushyant said with an expression of mock disappointment on his face. Kavin sniggered and ducked low as Dushyant attempted to whack his head. The rest of the ride was pretty much spent in the same manner.

As they got out at their destination, Sachin asked, "Who's interviewing him now?"

"Dushyant and I." Kavin said. "You both can check out the factory, since you guys have been here before." All four of them went their respective ways.

As the two of them worked their way through, Anita caught sight of a door at the far end of the long hallway. "Hey, excuse me?" She called out to a passing worker. "What's behind that door?"

"Ma'am, no one uses that room anymore." The worker said. "A fire completely destroyed the room. It's remained closed for about 6 years."

"And no one bothered to fix it?" Anita asked, frowning.

"We're running low on funds ma'am." The worker replied. "We don't have enough for maintenance repairs as it is. And we might be closing in the future soon." With that he walked off.

"It's a bit strange, isn't it?" Sachin commented as they continued to walk.

"What? About the worker?" Anita raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. The way he talked, well for an issue involving losing his job, he spoke rather casually about it. Like it was just a random topic to talk about."

"Huh." Anita sounded surprised. "That doesn't make sense. Why would he do that?" Even after an hour's worth of scouting around, they got nothing. Sachin wanted to bang his head against the wall in frustration but refrained from doing that.

"No clues; waste of time." Anita rubbed her eyes, sounding frustrated. "Come on, let's get back. I hope Kavin and Dushyant have something."

Sadly, the response was negative as well. "D'Souza was pretty rattled when we updated him on the next murder, but he had nothing new to contribute." Dushyant said, looking disgruntled. "And of course when we enquired about the company's state of affairs, he immediately answered that the company was just going through a rough phase and that everything would get better soon. What an answer."

"What in Merlin's beard is going on?" Anita said, irritated. "This case seems hopeless to me!"

"Hope survives best at the hearth." Kavin said. "We ought to get back now, there's nothing else we can do."

The minute they got back though, Sachin noticed the appearance of a white bike in the garage. It belonged to none of the officers.

"Whose bike is that?" Anita asked.

"I have a hunch." Sachin said as they got to the bureau. The bureau had Purvi, Shreya and Tarika animatedly chatting with another lady.

This lady was of medium length and had light brown skin, dark brown eyes that were bright and aware and jet black hair pulled into a ponytail. In sharp contrast to the formal attire of the female officers, the woman wore a tight black tank top, ripped blue jeans and black sneakers with white stripes. Her left arm had a sentence tattooed onto it and her right arm had the dauntless symbol tattooed onto it. She carried a laptop bag as well. She grinned when she saw Sachin.

"Sachin Pandey!" The girl said, rushing towards him. "Long time, no see!"

"Same to you, Meghna Roy, same to you." Sachin said, hugging her. She was still the same, a bouncing ball of energy, always ready to do the next daring thing. "You haven't changed a bit!"

"I'm Meghna Roy; I don't change that fast." Meghna grinned. "Who's the newbie?"

"This is Anita Williams." Sachin said, gesturing to Anita, who seemed transfixed by Meghna's appearance. "Anita, this is Meghna Roy, one of our informers and our Hacker."

"Hacker?!" Anita looked at her in astonishment. "I've never seen you here!"

"That's because I took leave and went to Bhopal for a vacation. Call me Meg, unless you want to die a slow, painful death." Meghna said, casually examining her nails.

"Don't worry. I'll keep that in mind." Anita said, smiling a little. "I like her."

"Where's Rajat?" Meghna demanded. Sachin stifled his laughter. Yep, she hadn't changed a bit.

"Rajat sir has gone out with ACP sir." Sachin said. Suddenly they heard the voices of the two mentioned individuals. "And looks like they're back." Meghna's eyes lit up as she positioned herself near the entrance door. Just a few minutes later, Rajat and ACP walked in.

"Hello Rajat!" Meghna said, smirking. Rajat's face went from impassive to half shock and half surprise. He didn't turn around but the look on his face showed that he was a hundred percent sure who the owner of the voice was.

"Welcome back, Roy." He said, taking in a deep breath and speaking in a tone that suggested 'I'm-done-for-now'.

"Just, 'Welcome back'?" Meghna smirked as she walked to Rajat who now looked slightly panicky. "Come on, I missed you! Don't tell me you didn't miss me!"

"Not a chance." Rajat said, looking at her with irritation and…was it just Sachin or did he see a bit of delight in them?

"So, how's my favorite CID officer doing here at the moment?" She flirtatiously asked, twirling her hair absentmindedly as she leaned in towards Rajat, who hastily took a step back.

"I'm doing very well, Roy." Rajat looked at her, looking highly irritated. "And for your information I'm doing just as fine as the other officers! You can see that!"

"That's true. There are many CID officers. But there can only be one Rajat Kumar…" Meghna spoke with an air of thoughtfulness as though contemplating something deeply. Rajat merely walked back, trying -and failing- to ignore her flirty stares. ACP looked slightly amused as he said, "Now that the formalities are over, what have you four-" He pointed to Sachin, Anita, Kavin and Dushyant,"-got?"

After their report, what little amusement was present on everyone's faces vanished. ACP looked slightly hopeful. "The company's going through a rough phase, is it? Meghna, I need you to check out the company's reports. All of them. And if they are planning on anything for the future…"

"Got it, sir." Meghna immediately rushed to a desk and sitting there, took out her laptop and after switching it on, started working on it. Anita whispered to Sachin as they got back to their desks. "Okay, spill. Who is she?"

Sachin answered. "We found Meghna when we were hunting down a serial killer. She was arrested by us for killing a large number of innocents in public places of entertainment. It turned out, she was killing them on behalf of a gang, who wanted to take revenge on the authorities for personal reasons. She killed in order to earn money to keep herself alive. We caught her when she'd been at a disco, planning her next kill. We offered her a better chance; to work for us and lead a respectable life. She took the offer."

"But why kill? Why couldn't she look for a better job?"

"Because of the fact she was an ex-assassin, who'd come seeking asylum in India after deflecting from Pakistan. It took some time, but she was granted amnesty by the government and was made an official Indian citizen."

Anita looked at Meghna, who was busy working on the laptop. "And she changed."

"She did. Her dressing style was a bit…controversial…but her hard work's earned her our respect and friendship. And she's got a sense of humor. That's something."

"Looks like she likes Rajat sir." Anita said, her eyes flitting from Rajat to Meghna.

Sachin grinned. "You think? Rajat was the one who brought her in and recruited her. Ever since then, she flirts with Rajat sir all the time. At first, it was just to see his reaction. Now though, she really likes him."

"And Rajat sir knows?"

"He's oblivious-" Sachin began but was cut off by Meghna yelling, "HOLY HERA! TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!"

"What, Roy?" Rajat said getting up. "Are you trying to give us all a heart attack?"

"Very funny." Meghna smirked. "But seriously, look. Dear old D'Souza's been doing stuff that doesn't seem to be useful for rusty motors." At these words everyone present appeared next to her curiously.

"A list of chemicals? International orders? But what's so important?" Shreya asked.

"Half of these chemicals are not even useful for him." Purvi said. "Huh. What is he planning anyway?"

"The company's really in debt." Rajat said, leaning to the screen, his arm in the process almost touching Meghna's. "For someone with this much money to pay back, he seems awfully calm."

"There are some other folders, but if I were to hack into them, it would take time." Meghna told ACP. "What should I do, boss?"

"Hack in, anyway." ACP ordered. "We're investigating. As long as we don't change anything, it will be fine. Start right away."

"Yes boss!" Meghna saluted him and started working immediately. Anita looked at the screen as she asked, "How long will it take?"

"Estimate? Five and a half hours at the most. Or six, depending on how strong their anti-hacking system is." Meghna replied, her eyes never wavering from the screen. "I'm doing my best at any rate. I hope I can do this."

"Of course you will be able to." Rajat said immediately, making Meghna look up in surprise. He cleared his throat. "You've been successful in the past, haven't you? You can do this. You're a really good hacker."

"Thank you Rajat. So this is what it takes to get a compliment out of you? I should try this more often." Meghna smiled at him. Rajat shook his head but he had a small smile on his face.

"Wow! A compliment _and_ a smile!" Meghna laughed out, as she got back to her laptop. Sachin and Anita walked off, both amused at that turn of events.

"I'm guessing Rajat sir likes her." Anita said, grinning.

"Me too." Sachin said, trying to fight down a smile as he looked at her. A part of Anita's hair was coming in her face and for a split second, he had an urge to tuck it behind her ear.

… _the hell are you thinking Pandey?_

"Anyway, I'm going to the bookstore today. Want to join me?" Anita asked him.

"Maybe some other time. I've some extra paperwork to do." Sachin said, feeling for some reason, upset that he couldn't go with her.

"I could help you." Anita said.

"I can handle it. Thanks for the offer though. I'll use it if things are too dire." Sachin told her.

"Anytime." Anita suddenly leaned towards him, her eyes in a half stare. "You're looking good today, Sachin."

Sachin's mouth suddenly turned dry as he breathed in her green apple and lily scent. He pulled himself together long enough to say, "Are you trying to _flirt_ with me?"

She laughed. "It didn't work?"

"It half worked." Sachin admitted, chuckling himself.

"Well, I meant it. You do look good today Sachin." She said and walked off, leaving a confused-and somewhat delighted-Sachin behind.

 **Review my lovelies! Review! *holds up signboard saying REVIEW***


	6. Accident

**What is this guys? Only two reviews per chapter? Really? CIDans and AreejSachinlover, I love you guys. In a friend sort of way. *awkwardly looks at feet***

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. *horror music in background***

"IS IT RAINING BLOODY MURDERS OR WHAT?!" Anita screamed as she got into the Mercedes Benz with Meghna in tow. For once, ACP had not asked Anita and Sachin to get to the crime scene together, but had paired up her with Meghna. Meghna looked pissed off herself.

"You just spoke with a British accent." Meghna pointed out as she got in. Anita saw what looked like black ink on her back before her hair covered it.

"Not my bloody point." Anita started the car. "The point is, this has escalated to what, 5 murders per day?"

"Precisely." Meghna held up her hand and started counting on her fingers. "Yesterday, one dead body in a park. Then this morning, another dead body is found in a warehouse. Now, not one, but _three_ bodies found! Three freaking bodies! That too with a message next to each of them! What next?"

"I was kind of hoping all crooks have this vacation from committing crimes. 'Kill those people, only five more days till Diwali' or something."

"'Merry Christmas! As a discount, 50% off on our regular rate of robberies!'"

"'Tired of robbing the same old banks? Weary of killing that typical shop keeper? Worry not! Book a ticket to Shimla and commit crimes on different people all to your heart's content!'"

For a few seconds, both women just stared at each other. Then they burst into laughter.

"S-sorry-" Anita gasped as she tried to stop herself unsuccessfully. "It's just…that…that comment-"

"I know, right?" Meghna had somehow stopped herself from laughing. "But it would be a lot more convenient for us."

Anita nodded. "Now where should we turn?"

"Take that right." Meghna instructed as they turned. They reached their location in a few minutes and found their way towards the body, this time a woman's. Meghna began taking pictures as Anita quickly searched her. In her pocket was a pen drive which they quickly connected to the laptop which Meghna had carried with her. The pen drive contained just an audio message, which they played.

" _CID officer._ " A voice spoke. It was a soft, quiet voice that spoke in a haunting, familiar manner that sent chills down Anita's spine. Whoever this was, it was evident this man was no mere killer.

" _I know you have got the body with you now. You have just now seen the expense I have taken to create something bigger. The world is changing. Something big, something wonderful will take place in the near future and I, undoubtedly, will be at its head._

" _Tell your ACP this. You have a choice. Join me and be one of the most powerful people this world has ever seen. I merely strive to keep the peace. Just as one prunes the diseased parts of a tree to keep it healthy, so have I killed these people to try and bring peace to a world filled with corruption, scandal, bigotry, betrayal and more. Join me, and you will live to see a new era of peace and prosperity._

" _However, be warned that this offer lasts up to Monday evening alone. Should you refuse, then listen. My spies are everywhere. Refuse my offer and I can assure you, you will not survive. I have great respect for the CID. I do not wish anyone to die. But refuse me, and you will thereafter be a hindrance to the great future. You will be the diseased part of the tree which I, the gardener, shall prune._

" _You have till Monday evening. Many have presumed you to be smart; do not prove them wrong by choosing the wrong choice._ "

Anita's blood had frozen with fear. There was something about that voice, something about himthat made her afraid. She had never felt this scared in all the ten years of her life as an officer. And the way he phrased his words…

Meghna's voice cut through the silence. "Come on, Anita." She said. Meghna didn't look the slightest bit afraid, but her eyes had considerably hardened. "Let's get you to the car. I'll call the ambulance; check in on Rajat and Sachin, will you?"

Anita dumbly nodded as the two of them got back to the car. Meghna took out her phone and dialed some numbers as Anita was about to call Sachin. She suddenly saw a shifty, sort of man coming towards her. It was one of the workers she had seen at the factory.

"You!" Anita remembered him as the chap who had answered her in regard with the burnt door. He'd looked sort of vague at that time. Now though, he looked wary and cautious.

"Me." He agreed. "Now call your fellow officer over. There's some stuff which you need to know about this whole case. And make it snappy!"

"Technically, I'm a hacker, not an officer. And what do you have for us?" Meghna asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, you see," The man said, crossing his arms, "Our boss, well, he's got himself a lab."

"A lab? At a motor factory?" Anita gaped at him.

"Precisely. Our boss, he's been acting very weird the last couple of months." He said, a troubled look etched on his face. "Ever since our company ran into trouble, well, he's coming up with ideas to set things right. He constructed a project and got some of us into it."

"What the hell is this project?"

"Something involving some new fluid or something. We're not exactly involved in these details. All he said was to create some sort of miracle medicine, which really got me suspicious. I did a little snooping around and got to know of these stuff. And here." He suddenly showed them a USB drive. "I've got some more stuff on this."

"Why not just tell us what's in it?" Meghna asked suspiciously. He snorted.

"Woman, you never know who's watching. Now get going. It's not safe here." With that, he walked off.

"Charming guy." Anita whistled. "Shall we check this?"

"At the bureau." Meghna said. "And I'm driving the car. You look spooked." And it was true. Anita still felt scared. She nodded.

"Tell you what," Meghna said as she started the car, "I'll get you an ice cream. It's good for comfort food and we can discuss this as well."

"If ACP asks, it's your idea, not mine."

"Agreed."

As they drove, Meghna asked, "Nice message, isn't it?"

"Positively spooky." Anita shuddered. "It's the way he phrased the words. _Keep the peace_. _I, the gardener, shall prune_. It's as though he's considering himself some sort of messiah."

Meghna nodded. "I bet 5 rupees and a plate of chocolate chip cookies the others got the same message like us."

"Touché." Anita said as they were turning a corner. As they pulled to the crossroad in front of them, neither of them saw the black jeep ramming into the Mercedes.

"THE ****?!" Usually Anita refrained from swearing, but the moment required it. With a CRASH, both women toppled forward. Meghna yelled out in pain as she hit the windshield. Anita felt a searing pain in her arm as she landed on it in a very precarious manner. She also heard a distinct SNAP, as though something had broken. She barely had time to push herself up before the jeep rammed into the car again. This time, she fell sideways and shrieked as her head hit glass.

She heard voices from outside. She waited for impact, but only heard the sound of tires screeching, which was fading as well.

"Meghna..." The pain was too much, she could barely speak. "Meg…wake up…my…phone…" She dimly heard a phone ringing to her right. Her hand fumbled around, before finding a vibrating object, which she recognized as her blue phone. She pressed the green button as she put it to her ear.

"Anita? Where are you? The bodies have reached the lab, we've just got a call saying there's been an accident-"

"Kav…in…" It was a huge effort to speak for her. "Murder att…empt…D'Souza…plans…" She said as her gaze started to blurr.

"What? Anita, what's going on?"

"Ambulance…Meghna…hurt…help…" Was all she said before the phone slipped from her hand and she fell unconscious before faintly hearing Kavin yell, "Anita! Anita!"

 **THIS LINEBREAK HAS ISSUES. IT NEEDS TISSUES. AND A LOT OF CHOCOLATE. AND SODA.**

When Anita woke up, she found herself staring at a light bulb, which was weird as she was pretty sure she hadn't seen that before blacking out.

She turned her head to see a lady wearing a pink nurse's uniform checking a monitor. "The hell?" She tried to say, confused even more. The nurse looked at her, smiling.

"You're awake! Good. I'll just inform the doctor now." She said, reaching for something. "No." She firmly said, when she saw Anita trying to get up. "You ought to resting now, officer. Now _lie down_." She firmly said as she walked out. Within a few minutes, she heard Kavin say, "Thank god!" before she saw his worried face.

"I'm alive." She said, this time feeling a bit more stronger.

"What in the name of merlin's most baggy Y-Fronts happened?!" Kavin asked checking her face. Anita frowned.

"How did I get here?" She asked, lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the bright light.

Kavin launched into his story. "When you both didn't get back on time, Rajat tried calling Meghna, but she didn't pick up. Then I tried calling you, but I couldn't hear anything properly. When we switched on the news channel, we saw your Benz looking like it had run through a shredder or something. We got to you both, where you both were covered in huge cuts and bruises." He gulped. "The doctor said if we had delayed a split second more, you wouldn't have survived. The blood loss had been high."

"Where are the others? And Meghna?"

"They're outside. And as for Meghna-" They suddenly heard what sounded like Meghna yelling at someone. "She's okay now. You're the one who got the most of the accident."

"That was no accident." Anita shook her head. Kavin didn't look surprised, but his face darkened as though she had confirmed one of his worst suspicions. He suddenly got up.

"I think if I keep the others away from you for too long, they'll be after me now." He walked out of the door which in a few seconds was opened by none other than Sachin himself.

"Sachin!" Anita exclaimed, suddenly feeling _very_ self-conscious. She felt like she had been dragged and kicked down a rough road. She probably looked like a mess. She was a mess.

"You're okay." He said, rushing to her side. "How are you feeling now?"

"Stupid." She said automatically.

"Glad to see your sense of humor hasn't vanished yet." Sachin laughed a bit in a relieved and affectionate tone, absentmindedly brushing her hair from her face.

"That bad?" She tried to grin, but it hurt like hell. She tried to move her left arm and felt surprised when she saw it in a cast. "How bad is it?"

"You've got cuts on your arms, feet and some on your face. The major damage though, is your arm. It's broken." He said, now looking a bit…angry. "Did you see who it was?"

"I have an idea of who it is-" She began, but was cut off by the entry of Purvi, Shreya, Nikhil and Daya, who bombarded her with questions. It was a bit annoying, especially when Sachin had to leave, looking slightly put out at this.

"The plot thickens!" Shreya said, after Anita had finished answering. "We got the same message from each of the corpses. Real charmer, that guy."

"No kidding." Daya said, moving closer to his wife. "I don't like his speech. Not one bit."

"Why didn't the driver just try to kill me?" Anita asked, confused. "One more ram, and it would have been bye-bye for Meghna and I."

"Perhaps he was trying to scare us into persuasion?" Purvi asked.

"Well he's persuasive all right." Nikhil shook his head. "I suspect D'Souza."

"Me too." Purvi, Shreya and Daya nodded. The doctor suddenly walked in. He was a pleasant man in his early sixties.

"Well well, officer." He spoke in a calm manner. "Let me see. Yes. The only major concern is your arm, which should be kept in a sling at all times for two weeks. Otherwise, you're good to go. Just don't exert yourself too much in terms of physical activities for the same time period, okay?"

"Alright." Anita nodded as she attempted to get up. Purvi and Shreya helped her up as Daya and Nikhil walked out of the room.

 ***Listening to Scene contra* Any malayalies out there? If so, did you guys see Premem? It's awesome!**

 **REVIEW! REVIEW! I TELL YOU, REVIEW!**


	7. Teaching

**SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! My effing exams just started this Thursday, and to top it off, I have three more on this Wednesday, Saturday and Tuesday. Yippee me.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. *horror music in the background***

"I am never going to be able to speak Malayalam." Shreya complained as she, Sachin, Anita and Daya got into Daya's Honda civic, parked nearby the hospital.

Anita's eyebrow shot up. "It isn't that hard! About half my class in college had learnt to speak some Malayalam." She grinned.

"What Malayalam?" Sachin asked, feeling curious as he sat in the back with Anita beside him.

" _Poda Patti_ and _mindathe izhikyada_." Anita said, obviously trying not to laugh. Sachin wondered what was there to laugh at.

"Which means?" Daya asked as he started the car.

"'Get lost bitch' and 'shut up'."

Shreya turned back, a look of shock on her face. "From where did they learn that?" Anita shrugged by answer.

"Anyway, could you speak in Malayalam for a bit?" She asked.

"Itha. Njan ippe malayalathil thane pazhayane. Ithile appazham njan inni enthengilum pazhayano?" Anita calmly spoke.

"What?!"

"Here. I am speaking in Malayalam only. Other than this should I say anything?" Anita translated, finally laughing.

Daya laughed as well. "Teach us Malayalam! That would be better."

"Okay fine." Anita sat straighter, some hair falling into her face. Sachin was struck with the same impulse to brush it away from her face, the way he did at the hospital. "If you want to say 'Hi, my name is_', then you should say, 'Hi, ente pere _ aane. For example, 'Hi, ente pere Anita aane." She turned to Sachin. "Try it out." She told him.

"Um…ente perru Sachin ane." He said, really astounded at how difficult the pronunciation was. The couple in front snorted while Anita looked encouragingly at him.

"Not bad, for a non mallu." She told him. "Shreya, you try it out." Shreya tried speaking it out. "It's hard!" She exclaimed at the end of the sentence.

"It isn't that hard! You just need practice. Daya sir, your turn."

During the entire journey, the three of them learnt how to speak a bit of Malayalam with varying degrees of success. Daya was the most successful, perhaps owing to the fact that he was from Bangalore which was a lot closer to Kerala. Shreya was the least successful, but was the most enthusiastic one. Sachin marveled at how Anita could speak Malayalam that easily.

When they got back to the bureau, they saw Abhijeet and Tarika talking. Judging from their demeanor, it looked like they were having their age old arguments.

"Abhijeet, I am not a fragile china doll." Tarika said, frowning. "I'm pregnant, but standing for some time is not going to hurt me!"

"You'll get tired easily Tarika." Abhijeet said, in a slightly worried tone. "I just asked you to sit down-"

"Entha ithu, Abhijeet sir?" Shreya couldn't contain herself as she spoke in her best attempt at Malayalam.

"Huh?"

"She's speaking in Malayalam, boss." Daya informed him. "But seriously, you both are having the same old argument again?"

"Yes, and this time he's not the only one disagreeing with me!" Tarika looked at the bulge in her stomach. "Traitor! This one is definitely disagreeing with me! Just like his father!"

"It could be a girl, you know." Abhijeet said, a bit amused. "I expect it will be."

"What's the poor baby done to you Tarika?" Anita said, chuckling.

"Kicking up a storm, that's what he's done." Tarika crossed her arms. "Barely had we started conversing on me sitting down and Anurag here started squirming and kicking!"

"I'm thinking Priyanka."

"Abhijeet, it's going to be a boy."

"Girl."

"Boy."

"Girl."

"Boy."

Everyone sighed. They all knew about the main argument the two Srivastavas had: the gender of the child. Abhijeet considered it a girl, while Tarika made it quite clear she believed it would be a boy. They even had names decided for both genders; Priyanka, if the child was a girl and Anurag, if it was a boy. Till now, neither of the two had backed down from the argument.

"Pinneyum ithine thane patti parayano?" Anita snorted.

"Translation?" Tarika asked.

"Are you guys still arguing on this? Come on guys." Anita complained.

"Yes, poor Nitu here will soon develop a headache from the two of you arguing so much." Shreya smirked. Anita looked at her incredulously.

"When did my name change from 'Anita' to 'Nitu'?"

"It's a nickname, my girl. Get used to it." Shreya said laughing as she ran from a fuming Anita who was shaking a fist at her while yelling at her in Malayalam.

Meghna hobbled in at that moment, her leg in a plaster, with Rajat supporting her and Nikhil and Purvi following the two of them. "What is this guys? What sort of friends are you, leaving me out of your discussions? I'm hurt, I really am. I trusted you." She said with a mock hurt expression on her face.

"Meg, this is called blind trust." Anita sniggered. "Ingane okka vijarichal pinne nee evadeyum ethilya." After seeing everyone's confused expressions, she sighed. "If you think like this you won't reach anywhere."

Sachin shook his head while smiling. "Go on Anita madam! I believe another lesson is in order."

"Lessons in Malayalam?" Tarika asked, grinning a bit. "Alright Professor. Begin!"

Anita straightened, and with an air of superiority she began, "Crash course for the dummy in Malayalam: When you want to say, 'How's it going?' to someone, you say, 'Enthokinde visheshangal?'"

Now Abhijeet tried saying it. "Inthokkendu Weesheshanngall? "No no, I mean, andhokendhu…aah!" He threw his hands into the air. "Why is this language so bloody complicated?"

"It's not complicated, Abhijeet sir!" Anita said, half exasperated. "You just have to keep trying!"

"I'll try! Okay, uh, endokandu veshashangaal?" Tarika attempted, unsuccessfully. "I see what you mean, Abhijeet."

After everyone attempted to say that line, a very amused Anita went ahead with the topic. "Next, when you want to reply to the previous question, if you are going to reply in affirmative, you say, 'sugham aane.' Now try saying that."

And so the course went on. By the time 7:00 PM arrived, all of them were able to-in varying degrees of success-introduce themselves and carry a small conversation out in Malayalam. As everyone walked to the garage, Anita stopped. "Oh boy, my car!" She looked panicked. "How am I supposed to get home now?"

"I'll drop you, professor Williams." Sachin told her.

"A) Don't call me Professor and B)," Anita looked at him with a warm smile, "Thank you."

As Sachin drove his car out, Anita started humming a tune. Sachin asked her idly, "Which song?"

"Hm?"

"The tune you're humming. Which song is it a part of?"

"Oh, that." Anita thought a bit before answering. "It's from this Malayalam movie 'Premam', called _Aluva Puzha_ , meaning 'Aluva river'."

"Can you sing it?" He asked her. She nodded and launched into the song.

" **Aluva puzhayude theerathu**

 **Aarorumillaa nerathu**

 **Thannanam thennithenni**

 **Thedivannoru maargazhikaattu**

 **Poomarakompin chaarathu**

 **Poomanam veeshum nerathu**

 **Thannanam thennithenni**

 **Thedivannoru paingilikaattu**

 **Parayaathe palliyilvachen**

 **Karalil keri olichavale**

 **Pathivaai pala pala vattam**

 **Manassil choolamadichavale**

 **Parayaathe palliyilvachen**

 **Karalil keri olichavale**

 **Pathivaai pala pala vattam**

 **Manassil choolamadichavale**

 **Aadyamaai ullinnullil**

 **Pootha poovalle…**

 **Sammatham thannaal ninne**

 **Thaaliketti kondupoville**

 **Aluva puzhayude theerathu**

 **Aarorumillaa nerathu**

 **Thannanam thennithenni**

 **Thedivannoru maargazhikaattu.** " **(A/N: All malayalies will understand the song. All non malayalies…try listening to it. It's a nice song.** **)**

She sang well. Sachin was impressed. Really impressed.

"So the professor knows how to sing!" He exclaimed, earning a light whack from Anita.

"I love this song." Anita said, smiling a bit. "So my singing was that great, huh?"

"Athu nanaiyi." Sachin said, trying out the language.

" _Athe nannayi_." She corrected him, blushing a bit. "And thank you, for the compliment."

"You're welcome." Sachin said. There was a sort of silence, before he awkwardly asked her, "Does your arm still hurt?"

"Nah." She shrugged. "Just the occasional ache when I move it around. I can get used to it."

"If you need any help with anything, I'll be around." He suddenly blurted out. He immediately felt stupid.

 _Congratulations, Sachin Hrishikesh Pandey. You truly are an idiot._

Anita blushed again. "Thanks." She answered, a small smile on her lips now. "I'll keep it in mind."

By the time they got to her house, the car was filled with awkward silences. Sachin had no idea on what to say to her, all of a sudden. Everything that came to his mind was either too cheesy or too boring. He shook his head as he said, "Here's your house. I'll pick you up at 7 o clock tomorrow."

"I don't want to inconvenience you-" Anita began, but was cut off by Sachin's, "No excuses. 7 o clock, okay? And here, I'll help you down."

"I'm not a fragile china vase, Sachin." Anita complained. "I can get down on my own."

"I know." Sachin said as he got down. "I just want to, you know, help one way. Take care of the person who I care for the most." _Now where did that come from? It felt right, but still._

If Anita felt weird, she didn't show it as she opened her door. As Sachin got her down, he wrapped his arm around her waist to steady. It took about two seconds for him to realize just exactly how close they were together. Their faces were just a few inches apart. Once again his mouth went dry.

"Um…" Anita said in a breathy sort of voice, green eyes locking onto his brown ones. "So, I'll see you tomorrow at seven, then?"

"Not a minute late." Sachin answered in the same tone of voice.

"Okay then." Anita answered, and before Sachin could say a word, she quickly kissed his cheek.

"Good night." She murmured and walked off towards her house, leaving a shocked Sachin behind. If he looked closely, he could see the cheek muscles lifting, as though she was smiling.

 _Oh yes. I most definitely think I'm in love._

 _Scratch that. I am in love._

 **So, whaddaya think? Is the ending too cheesy? I think it was an okay chapter. And all the Malayalam sentences I used here are real. No fakes, whatsoever.**

 **So anyway review! And best of luck for all people who're taking their exams this week!**


	8. Danger

**So sorry for the late update! EXAMS ARE OVER! If any kids from FAIPS are reading this, then happy independence week!**

 **Also, Anita Williams is played by Isha Talwar and Meghna Roy is played by Nyla Usha.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. *cue horror background music***

"The charity fund thingy is 8 hours from today and you're telling me you have nothing to wear?!" Meghna stared at Anita, who shrugged. She took a deep breath before continuing, "Jeans and a T-shirt are _not_ appropriate for events like this!"

"Then what is? Dresses?" Anita felt like banging her head against the wall. "You're starting to sound like Alice Cullen."

"I am not. I'm telling you, there is such a thing as dress codes. You lot are going this evening to infiltrate the PE's territory-"

"PE?!"

"Potential Enemy. As I was saying, you lot are going this evening to infiltrate the PE's territory, so the least you could do is dress suitably!"

Anita shook her head. "I can't run in dresses!"

"Of course you can! I can." Meghna smugly smiled before continuing, "We're going shopping today, the four of us."

"Who's us?" Anita asked.

"You, me, Shreya and Purvi. We're dress shopping. And no, you are not backing out of this." Meghna jabbed a finger in her direction for emphasis. Anita groaned at the prospect of dress shopping. She had never liked dresses, owing to the fact she couldn't wear something that could cover her legs.

"Do we have to follow this ridiculous code?"

Meghna gave her a _no-backing-out-of-this_ look as she pulled herself up with her crutches and hobbled over to Rajat with a smirk on her face. Anita sat back to enjoy the usual Rajat-Meghna banter/flirting.

Since the occurrence of the accident, for the last three days, Rajat had changed. Earlier when Meghna flirted with him, he had looked extremely irritated and nervous. But now, when Meghna talked to him in any manner, he listened to her more, bantered a bit with her and glanced at her a lot.

"Hey, Rajat." Meghna smiled a flirty smile at him. Rajat looked up from the file he was working on. His face remained impassive but his eyes had a look of amusement and a bit of delight.

"Now what?" He asked coolly.

"Do you have a band aid? I think I scraped my knee falling for you." Meghna had graduated to using pickup lines now.

"Nope." He said, looking at his file again.

"Seriously, do you have a band aid? I got a paper cut just now." She held up her right forefinger for proof. Rajat shook his head without looking up. Meghna rolled her eyes as she went to the forensic lab. Just before she walked in, she glanced at Rajat, but with another look; one that suggested…dissatisfaction? No, longing. Pain and a bit of longing as well. It was only a few seconds, but it was there.

Sachin walked in at that precise moment. "What'd I miss?" He asked her.

"Just the usual banter." She said, her heart suddenly speeding up a bit as he sat next to her. "And the fact that Shreya, Purvi and Meghna are making me come with them for dress shopping. Apparently jeans and a T-shirt is not acceptable for a charity fund."

Sachin laughed quietly, making Anita's heart rate go faster in pleasure. Of course this happened whenever Sachin was around, ever since she had kissed his cheek.

Love. The strangest emotion Anita had ever discovered. Of course she was in love with fictional characters (Tobias Eaton, Fred Weasley, the list was endless) and she had celebrity crushes as well (Niven Pauly), but this was different. She was in love with her friend and partner. She had no idea how _that_ happened, but it was true.

When she had been in Kerala, her fellow female officers had talked on and on about their boyfriends, crushes and husbands. When she'd been asked about her plans of settling down, she'd simply said without batting an eyelid, "I'm perfectly fine remaining single."

Anita did not believe in the mushy, giggly sort of love that made her want to puke. Love, she always believed, was caring for your other half and respecting them as your equal. Putting someone else's needs before yours (Thank god for Olaf). But since none of the guys she'd dated were up to her expectations, she'd given up all hope of finding her other half.

But Sachin was different. He was remarkably good looking, as well as a lot easier to communicate with since both of them were bookworms and part of the same fandoms. Yet the probability of _him_ liking her was a tad small.

"Dress shopping time!" Purvi's voice rang out as she, Meghna and Shreya walked up to her. "Up you get, my dear!"

Anita shot a _save-me_ look at Sachin, who simply shrugged. She glared at him as Purvi made her follow them, already regretting the agreement for a half day of work.

Half an hour later, they were in the mall, dress shopping. A hapless Anita had been made to try out no less than six different dresses and her patience was wearing thin.

"Try this one!" Shreya said, pulling out one from the nearby rack. It was a long, midnight blue dress reaching down to a few inches below her knees which was off shoulder. Tiny sequins adorned the left side of the dress. It looked beautiful.

"Wow." Anita stared at it.

"Staring at it won't make it automatically get put on you!" Meghna said as Shreya made Anita take it. "Go put it on!" Anita walked into the changing room and put on the dress, with a little difficulty. She looked at herself in the mirror. Not bad. Ultimately they bought their dresses and made their way to Anita's house.

As Anita was subjected to a makeover by Meghna, she asked her, "Is this really necessary? We're solving a case, not partying the night."

"This will help you blend in, my dear." Meghna said, putting blue eye shadow on her eyelids. "So, what about Sachin?"

That was unexpected. "What do you mean, what about Sachin?" Anita asked.

"Are you going to friend zone him or what?" Meghna looked ready to facepalm. "You like him, don't you?"

"Has it been that obvious?" She asked, really hoping that the topic would change to something else.

"As obvious as my feelings for Rajat. I'm telling you girl, make a move on him! That man is utterly oblivious!" Meghna said as she put down the eye shadow and reached for the Labello stick she had with her, which Anita recognized as the _Angel Star_ edition. "Put it on." Meghna told her as she shifted to the back to tie Anita's hair.

"What about you and Rajat?" Anita asked her. Meghna was quiet for a moment before answering, "I don't think he'll ever like me."

"Are you kidding me? What makes you think that way?"

"Think about it Anita!" Meghna said, in a pained voice. "I'm an _ex assassin_ who killed several people from a young age. I was freaking arrested here for murder by the CID. I have a long history of crime. Not to mention I'm hyperactive and sometimes unorthodox in my methods. Why would Rajat be interested in a pretty face like me?"

"You're fun to hang around with." Anita pointed out. "You're an optimist and you're hard working and loyal. You're brave and dedicated. Blunt at times and not exactly the most tactful person, but dedicated. You're not just a pretty face." Meghna said nothing as she twisted Anita's hair into a loose bun. When they were done, all four got into Shreya's Hyundai.

The plan was quite simple:

-Get to CID HQ

-Get to party

-Find a legit way of exploring what's in the factory and find out where the lab is

-Find evidence and confront Varun

So, pretty much a fine plan. Anita was a hundred percent sure the plan was going to fail from step 4.

The minute they got into HQ, Meghna grinned and pointed at the trio-Anita, Purvi and Shreya- as if to say _ta da_ and said in a similar tone, "And here we have the next undercover CID officers! Clap your hands for the terrific trio!"

Anita scanned the room. Rajat, Daya, Abhijeet, ACP, Nikhil and Sachin had agreed to go for the assignment along with the three girls. All of them were wearing a simple shirt and pants. Sachin looked handsome in his black attire.

ACP sir looked at the three of them and smiled. "The three of you look very beautiful. Are you sure you'll be able to run in those dresses?"

"We will sir." Purvi said. "We had them specifically picked out for such an occasion as this. We even had it to match our titles." At seeing everyone's confused faces, she continued, "Shreya's the tough one so she's wearing red, Anita's the charmer so she's wearing blue and I'm the awesome one so I'm wearing yellow."

Anita rolled her eyes. "Dream on mole, dream on." She checked her watch. "Ten more minutes till we go. Are we all set?"

"My laptop's here." Meghna said. "I'll be here incase my hacking skills are very much needed."

"Everything's set. You know what to do. We go for the party, mingle a bit with everyone and then we start searching separately. Keep contact with each other at all times. And if you do find something, inform all of us. Alright? Good." ACP told all of them. Which was how Anita found herself one hour and fifteen minutes later in the company of a flirt at the charity fund party.

"So I take it you're here for buying off shares from the company?" She asked the guy, who smiled in what he thought was a charming manner.

"Why yes." He said, idly smiling at her. "You know, for a CID officer, you are pretty hot."

Anita was ready to punch this guy in the face. "Thanks." She looked around for anyone she knew and to her immense relief, found Sachin, who seemed to be in a similar situation. "Oh, I think I'm being called by someone. Bye!" And without warning, she rushed over to Sachin. When he saw her he said, "Ah, Anita! I was wondering where you were!"

"So this is the girlfriend you were talking about?" The lady asked Sachin. "I thought- holy crap! Anita Williams?" Anita felt confused for about three seconds before realizing who it was.

"Sandhya Menon." One of her fake friends in Kerala, both of them had been bitter rivals, until Sandhya had moved to Chennai. "What are you doing here?" Anita asked her, annoyed.

"My husband is a business partner. And you? What are you doing here?" Sandhya laughed a bit arrogantly. "This party's a bit too extravagant for you, don't you think nerd? What happened to your books? Still bookworm Anita Williams?"

"That's CID inspector Anita Williams, Menon." Anita grinned as Sandhya's smug grin changed to one of shock and horror. "Now Sachin, I believe we need to get on with our job, don't you think?"

"Oh yes. Nice to meet you Sandhya." Sachin told a still bemused Sandhya as they walked away to the factory while losing themselves in the crowd. As soon as they were alone, Anita looked at Sachin. " _Girlfriend_?"

"I had nothing else." Sachin sheepishly said. Anita snorted before touching her Bluetooth earphone **(A/N: I sincerely have no idea what that ear thingy is called).** "We're inside the factory. Any additional instructions?"

"Search everywhere." ACP sir's voice spoke. "Don't leave a stone unturned."

They started with Varun's office. As they entered the room, Anita sniffed the air. It was rather…sweet. The air smelled fresh and sweet, like roses and hibiscus.

"Air freshener, much?" Anita asked Sachin.

"Well, at least it's easier to search in here then." He replied. But when the door closed, he suddenly stumbled.

"Sachin?" Anita asked, slightly worried. She suddenly began to yawn. The room was blurring. _This is not the time to sleep!_ She thought as she collapsed, vaguely hearing another hitting sound beside her.

 **THE LINE BREAK WANTS SKYEWARD BACK (AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHO SKYEWARD ARE, THEN YOU'RE LIVING UNDER A ROCK)**

Anita woke up and found herself tied to a chair.

Looking around her, she saw Purvi, Nikhil and Sachin tied up in the same manner, all waking up. Purvi was the first to notice her.

"…what the hell? Last thing I remember is walking out of that store room." Purvi groaned as she struggled with the ropes.

"Sweet smell in the air?" Sachin asked Nikhil and Purvi, who nodded. Just then Varun D'Souza walked it, a cool and calm smile on his face.

"Did you like the fragrance?" He asked them, his eyes mocking.

"What are you doing this for?" Anita snapped at him. "This isn't world piece or anything, it's something else, isn't it D'Souza?"

"Where are the other officers?" Sachin growled.

"Quite safe, fellow officers. I have not killed them. Why kill when you can use?" Varun laughed, a cold and harsh laugh. Nikhil paled.

"The serum! You injected them, didn't you?" He said and then looked confused. "But then why are we still okay?"

"You are resistant. Your resistance and will is quite admirable, but here, are quite hindering to my plans." Varun coldly said. "My company will be in ruins! But with this serum, think of what I can do! I will control everyone important! Gain real power! I will be famous and rich! And I won't worry about anything!" He then sneered.

"You two-" He pointed at Sachin and Nikhil, "You two have a weaker resistance. Let me see what it takes to break you down. The two of you, on the other hand," He motioned to Purvi and Anita who paled a bit, "Are a threat to me. You will be executed. You!" He called out to a couple of burly men. "Take the ladies to the labs and finish them off. I don't want any messy business." He said, and walked off. But before that, he smirked.

"My plan will work at midnight. And of course, you won't be there to stop me." He said, and laughed a sinister laugh as he walked through the burned door.

 **My longest update ever! Whoa! And so I leave you at a cliffhanger. Muahahaha! *evil background music***

 **Rate and review, my lovelies!**


	9. Showdown

**So sorry for the late update again! I blame writer's block!**

 **DISCLAIMER! I OWN NOTHING!**

The guards wasted no time in dragging Anita and Purvi away to god knows where and Nikhil and Sachin to separate rooms, which looked a lot like a lab.

Sachin glared at the man in front of him as the man filled something in a syringe. The man smiled coldly as he brought the syringe near him.

"Let go of me!" He growled at the guy as he injected the syringe onto his neck.

"Oh don't worry officer." The man grinned a shark like grin as Sachin blacked out once again. It was a bad idea.

When he woke up, he found himself in utter darkness. He felt suffocated as he tried to get up unsuccessfully. Apparently he was in some kind of box or something, something that would crush him. He started panicking as he tried to push the walls away, but to no avail.

"Sachin…" He heard someone calling out.

"Sachin?" It sounded like Anita.

Absolute terror washed over him as he struggled more. He hated confined spaces; he feared and loathed them.

"SACHIN HRISHIKESH PANDEY! THINK THROUGH THIS YOU BITHERING IDIOT!" Anita's voice yelled. "IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD!"

 _All in your head?_

"They've injected you with a serum! I don't know what it does, but it doesn't seem to be inflicting any injuries! Varun said that you're resistant as well right? Well, try! Try to stop it!"

Sachin breathed heavily. Try to stop it? How the hell was he going to do that? He needed to calm down! Unfortunately this didn't seem to be happening anytime soon!

Calm down?

Sachin breathed hard as he tried to formulate a plan. What if the serum was similar to the ones in the _Divergent_ series? There were no injuries on his body, so maybe this preyed on his fears. So he probably needed to overcome this fear. And that was by calming down.

He mentally chanted, _it's not real, it's not real_. While doing so, he wrapped his arms around himself as he tried to make the space around him smaller. More terror flowed through him, but he tried focusing on good memories to calm down. His first day at the CID. The cases which they had solved together. The family moments they had shared together.

Then he remembered more happier ones. Meeting Anita. Working with her. Cracking inside jokes with her. Engaging with her in fandom discussions. Her laugh. The way her green eyes shone when she talked animatedly about something which she liked the most. And that kiss which she had given him on his cheek. He'd felt like he was on cloud nine that night.

Slowly, but surely, his terror started vanishing. The walls around him fell down, the space around him rapidly increasing. He exhaled as he relaxed and opened his eyes to find a relieved Anita, who immediately engulfed him in a hug.

"You dunderheaded deaf ball of ignorance! I was so worried! I have half a mind to slap you, you-" She exclaimed only to be cut off by Sachin laughing. She glared at him, opening her mouth to yell at him.

He had no idea who had started it, but five seconds later, both of them were kissing each other. When they broke off, she sort of grinned.

"When we're done, you're taking me out."

"Agreed. Now what?" Sachin asked her as both of them got up and walked out of the room. The answer was soon provided in the form of Nikhil and Purvi, both of whom looked as though they had been running a marathon.

"We don't have time." Purvi told them. "The guards caught us escaping; we need to contact Meghna, she'll know how to stop this serum's effects."

"Where the hell are we going now?" Anita wondered as the four of them ran down the corridor with Purvi in the lead. Purvi merely directed them to a store room on the right. Inside, Anita dialed Meghna's number and waited for a few seconds before the phone was picked up.

"Hello? Meghna?...Yes, we're in trouble…ACP sir, Shreya, Daya sir, Abhijeet sir, Rajat sir…Can you crack it?...oh snap," Anita looked at them worriedly as she told them, "She needs time. She's saying it won't be easy and she needs a couple of minutes for cracking the program. Plus, she needs someone to get to the control room to help her out."

"Anita, you and Nikhil can do it. Purvi and I'll get to Varun." Sachin told her, reaching for his gun. Without a moment's delay, Sachin and Purvi made off to the factory entrance. On the way Sachin asked her, "How did you escape alive?"

Prompt came her answer. "We were going to be injected with some killing serum. But before we were injected though, one of the guards took out the rest of them. It turned out this guy was that victim Arnav's brother. Anita and Meghna had conversed with him on the day they'd been involved in that accident. He told us to get to you both before Varun found out anything amiss."

"What happened to Nikhil?"

"Hallucinating serum. He mistook me for the enemy or something so he tried to kill me."

"How did you-"

"Cognitive re-calibration." At the blank look on Sachin's face, she smirked. "I hit him really hard in the head."

"Remind me never to piss you off again." He muttered as they reached the party area, where they hid among the guests. Varun was spouting something about a miracle drug that would solve mankind's problems. Sachin gulped as he saw Abhijeet, Daya, Shreya, ACP Pradyuman and Rajat standing there impassively. One wrong move, and they were history.

His phone buzzed as a text popped onto his screen. It was from Nikhil.

 _What's going on?_

He responded back.

 **Varun's giving out a big speech on the serum solving all of mankind's problems. Any luck?**

 _Anita's bringing down the firewalls, or whatever they're called. That'll save us time._

 **What are we supposed to do now?**

 _We'll tell you when we're almost completed._

 **How much more time?**

 _We're lucky. Meghna's saying she only needs five more minutes now. Until then, stay alive._

"What's he saying?" Purvi whispered.

"Five minutes and then Varun's toast." Sachin said. Unfortunately for them, Varun spotted them. His face registered surprise, before he called out, "Officers! What are you doing there?"

It was now or never. "Varun D'Souza, you're under arrest for committing murder." Sachin said as he and Purvi faced him with their guns pointed. Murmurs of dissent spread through the crowd at the words _arrested_ and _murder_.

"Murder?" Varun scoffed. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Your elaborate plan of controlling everyone with your serum has backfired." Purvi calmly spoke. "There's no use trying to deny it."

"Well, I'm sure your seniors have not heard of anything like _that_ now, have you?" Varun asked the rest of the CID. ACP opened his mouth, when suddenly his impassive face changed into one that of confusion.

"What am I doing here? I was in the factory…" He said, bemused as he looked at the others, who were also returning to normal. He then glared at Varun.

"YOU!" He roared. "You injected us with that despicable liquid! We've plenty of evidence to lock you up in jail till the end of your days!"

Varun's face had changed expression to a horrified and angry look in the meantime. At that precise moment, Anita and Nikhil burst into the area with their guns as well.

"The game's up Varun D'Souza." Nikhil taunted a livid Varun. "Anything else to say?"

As Varun tried to run off, Daya caught him and gave his customary slap. Through the confession, Varun lamented on his failure.

"It was a perfect plan!" He moaned. "Why didn't it work?"

"Good always triumphs over the bad, Varun." Anita smirked.

"Take him away!" ACP told Daya and Abhijeet, who immediately followed that order. Sachin took that chance to talk with Anita. That overdue date needed some planning.

 **9 months later (Anita POV)**

"I'm still saying this. He's so adorable!" Anita exclaimed to Tarika as she held a sleeping four month old Anurag Srivastava in her arms. Tarika laughed as she took her son back. "Amit is also good looking for a three month old, don't you think?" She asked her.

The Srivastava family was not the only one that had expanded. Exactly one month after Anurag Athul Srivastava had been born, Freddy and Manisha were also blessed with a son, who they called Amit. To top it all off, it was later discovered that Shreya was three months pregnant as well. To say Daya was overjoyed was an understatement.

"No one can beat Anurag though," Anita commented as she walked over to Kavin, her mind unable to process what she had learnt of the day before.

"Can't believe it?" Kavin smirked at a gaping Anita.

"Be serious Kavin; you got a girlfriend? How is that even possible?" Anita asked him incredulously.

"She fell for my innate charm, that's how." Kavin proudly declared. "And I'm not the only person who has a girlfriend now." He pointed at Meghna and Rajat who were both laughing and joking.

Five days after the serum case, Meghna and Rajat had become a couple. This news had been met with many an, "I told you so!" from seniors and juniors alike. Even ACP had agreed to it, though cautioning Rajat to handle Meghna if things got out of hand.

"Anita!" Sachin called out to her across the room.

"Yes Sachin?" Anita went over to him and asked him.

"There's something I'd like to show you." Sachin said and beckoned her to follow him. Anita followed him, her mind speculating over what the surprise was. The speculations grew wilder as she followed him to the rooftop.

"What's over here?" Anita asked Sachin, who just looked at the watch and looked up. She was just about to ask the question again, before a now smiling Sachin pointed at the sky. She looked up and her mouth fell open.

"A meteor shower? By the angel, this is amazing! I've always wanted to see one!" She gleefully exclaimed, feeling excited. Sachin nervously took her hand, not wanting to spoil the moment. When she didn't withdraw her hand, he relaxed.

They stood like that in silence for a few minutes before Anita spoke. "How did you know about this?"

"I looked it up when I was killing some time." Sachin answered.

"In the bureau? When ACP sir was around?" Anita asked him with mock disapproval.

"I was bored. Can't blame a bored man now, can you?" Sachin replied back. "Plus it's a beautiful evening today. I didn't want to waste it."

Anita looked at the meteors as she asked him again, "Remember the serum case?"

As Sachin answered affirmative, she continued, "During that time when you were injected with that serum, what did you see? Why were you so scared? No offense, of course."

"I think that serum was making me experience my worst fears or something." Sachin replied. "I experienced claustrophobia."

"Closed spaces scare you the most?" Anita asked him.

"I loathe them. I've always preferred open spaces."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I have a fear of heights. I have a fear of falling down to my death."

"So if you would have been injected with that serum…"

"I'd probably have got Four's fear of falling from that building."

"And you'd be backing against the wall, probably like Four."

"That would have been much more dignified than curling into a ball and weeping like a baby."

"HEY!" Anita laughed as Sachin exclaimed at the jibe. "I did not weep like a baby."

"I don't think so!" Anita said in a sing song voice.

"I did not!"

"You did! In fact maybe I'll tell the others-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Williams."

"Oh yeah? Make me-" Anita began, but the second she had uttered the words _make me_ , Sachin cut her off by kissing her. Anita felt like a toaster. All her coils heated to red-hot. Any more warmth and she'd start smelling like burnt toast.

She really didn't care. For the moment, everything was fine.

 **And thus endeth the story! How was it?**

 **Watch out for my newest one called, "CID: Next generation"! Yes, that's right, this story deals with the lives of twelve kids whose parents are none other than our CID officers!**

 **Rate and review, my lovelies!**


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